Casey DeSantis stumps for mental health, substance abuse help
Casey DeSantis discusses a new rule mandating five hours of mental health education for middle and high school students.

IMG_0548
"Children are getting lost in that system."

First Lady Casey DeSantis was in Jacksonville Monday, spotlighting efforts in dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues in schools, and rolling out policy changes.

One of those initiatives will be rolled out Wednesday at a State Board of Education meeting by Commissioner Richard Corcoran.

A new rule for mental and emotional health will require five hours of mental health training for students in middle and high schools in addition to staff.

This is a “good first step among many,” Mrs. DeSantis said.

Corcoran called it a “first step in mental health awareness” and something that can “save lives,” likening it to CPR training that could help students identify issues with their peers.

Mrs. DeSantis, Corcoran, and a number of other stakeholders held a closed-to-press “listening session” at a Northside Jacksonville high school before discussing policy.

For the First Lady, it is clear that there will be more of these in the next three-plus years, as she spent some time outlining her personal stake in the matter.

After a brief period to “step back and listen” early in her husband’s term, DeSantis realized “very quickly” that mental health and substance abuse would be focuses.

DeSantis described these as “big problems across the state,” saying that the need to address these issues is akin to the administration’s focus on the environment.

“This is an investment in the people of the state,” the First Lady said. “It’s just the right thing to do.”

DeSantis touted the Hope for Healing Initiative, a multiagency collaboration designed to remove “silos” and “get accountability for the nearly $2 billion we are spending annually on mental health and substance abuse.”

Among the intersections of those: Opioid overdoses, which take the lives of 17 people a day.

“Children are getting lost in that system,” DeSantis said, suggesting potential collaborations with “the faith-based community.”

“In order to make sure we’re doing the right things to fix the problem, we have to understand where the problem is,” DeSantis said.

“Shining a spotlight” on mental health and substance abuse will, DeSantis asserted, help to de-stigmatize the conditions.

With one in five Floridians under the age of 25 having had a mental health condition, many of them having suicidal ideations, expect some policy movement.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories